Morning Read: DMV Leaders Demand Reforms To MWAA Board

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Dysfunction continues at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and now the DMV’s top leaders are trying to put a stop to it all.

After a Post story about a judge refusing Virginia’s request to replace a labor leader on the panel, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Gov. Martin O’Malley, Mayor Vincent Gray and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wrote a letter Tuesday to MWAA chair Michael Curto saying that recent reports have raised “serious doubts” in MWAA.

Politico reports that the letter is notable both for its comprehensiveness and because it brought together rivals McDonnell and O’Malley with the feds and Gray.

The MWAA board is responsible for overseeing northern Virginia’s airports and the Metro extension project to Dulles.

The letter, according to Politico, asked for the following eight reforms to be instituted immediately.

* Overhaul MWAA’s human resources office to come in line with federal standards.
* Ax noncompetitive contracts made with former MWAA members.
* End work relationships between the board and former members.
* Employ “post-employment” restrictions between the board and former members.
* Beef up the ethics code to avoid conflicts of interest.
* Tighten the belt on travel procedures “to eliminate wasteful spending.”
* Open meetings, meeting minutes and the agenda to the public and online.
* Reduce costs at the airports and in the Metro construction.

The MWAA Board announced Tuesday that it would be cancelling contratcs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars with former board members, according to The Washington Examiner. In exchange for payment, the board members audited airports activities and lobbied the state legislature on behalf of the authority.

The MWAA had previously defended these insider contracts, but cancelled them after the DMV leaders sent the letter.